God and the iPod

Monday

Nov 12, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Church and iPods. One's an institution that has been around for a variety of ages, the other a trendy portable media player that comes in a variety of colors.

They're not words one typically would think belong in the same sentence, much less work in harmony, but with congregations dreaming up creative ways to attract young people to church, the iPod has become an effective tool at bringing the computer-savvy generation into the fold.

THE IDEA

At Discovery Christian Church, a congregation that boasts more than 500 members at its two "campuses," one in family-friendly Cranberry Township and the other in Pittsburgh's urban South Side, podcasting sermons has been a regular occurrence for more than two years.

Ryan Phipps, pastor at the South Side campus, said there were two theories that led to the creation of the podcasts. The obvious one, he said, was that it was a great way to give people unable to make it to church a chance to catch up on what they missed. This especially rang true at the South Side campus, where many members are college students.

"We have loud music and edgy relevant sermons, lots of video and multi-media," Phipps said. "Our podcasts, particularly for this campus, are a must-have. Most people who go to the campus are in school and work full-time or part-time jobs. For them to be there every week is next to impossible, so a lot of them subscribe."

The other theory is the more outside-the-box idea that the podcasts will give people a chance to try out the church without having to set foot in a service.

In an era where everything from a good pizza shop to a wedding dress can be found online with the click of a mouse, Phipps said, finding a church is no different. Many turn to the Web as a way to research whether a church will be a good fit for them and if there's a sampling of the services that people can download as an MP3 file, that's all the better.

"It's just like anything else. People get on a Web page when they want to try something first," Phipps said. "It gives people a change to hear what we're about before they get in the door. We've had multiple people come up to us and say they found us online."

Christopher Scheib discovered Discovery just that way. The Economy resident said he and his wife, Jen, were scoping out churches online when they came across Discovery's Web site.

"It's just nice for anybody who was like we were," Scheib said. "It was nice to be able to grab the podcast and get a feel for what their message was."

Scheib said he regularly listens to the podcasts when he's out of town and even when he just wants to relive a particular message from the church.

"The nice thing is that with the podcasts, you can pull out something that may be of special interest to you that you know was talked about eight months ago," he said.

Right now, Phipps said, Discovery only has audio of sermons, but there are plans to add video.

A former full-time professor at Geneva College, Grassel said when he became the church's pastor about a year ago he made it a point to improve the church's Web site.

Although he was hesitant to call Web sites a marketing tool for the church, he admits that's exactly what they have become. In addition to the video, Grassel said, he plans to start blogging on the Web site.

"I think Web sites act as a marker; I think for the younger crowd, 40 and under, that a Web site is a marker that says, 'I think this church is in the 21st century,' " he said. "That's part of the criteria that some use to measure if a church is for them."

Grassel said the video also is useful for shut-ins who can't make it to church.

However, he agreed with Phipps that online sermons shouldn't be used as a substitute for attending church.

"The worship experience should be much more full than that," he said. "It's really about the total experience. When you just do that off a DVD, you don't get the exchange of community and friendships that are a part of this."

On the other hand, Phipps envisions a day when worshipers can participate in a church without being in a physical building.

"Maybe they won't call it podcasting 50 years from now, but having sermons on the Internet is going to be around for a long time," he said. "One thing I can see it turning into is a virtual church experience, where you can be a part of music and announcements.

"I just wouldn't put it beyond technology for that to happen," he said "Not to sound theological, but God just wants people to know he loves them no matter what technology is used, and I would be OK with that. It would save me on gas."

Jessica Bruni can be reached online at jbruni@timesonline.com.

WHAT'S A PODCAST?

A podcast is a digital media file distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players like the Apple iPod and personal computers.

Though podcasters' Web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to and downloaded automatically when new content is added.

SERMONS GO HIGH-TECH

For those interested in downloading sermons online, there's no need to limit the search to Beaver County. Economy resident Christopher Scheib often visits Web sites such as www.sermonaudio.com, a national network featuring sermons uploaded from churches across the country. The site boasts more than 150,000 sermons divided into categories, such as speaker, topic and Bible.

"I just think it's a great way to reach out and make resources available," Scheib said. "It's just so easy to upload it to a podcasting location. There really are no risks involved from a church's perspective."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.